


just dive right in and follow my lead

by joeckfanfic



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Love Confessions, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-21 08:06:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13736694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joeckfanfic/pseuds/joeckfanfic
Summary: “It’ll be your wedding next,” Tracey says, and he almost chokes from her words. “Too soon?”“A little bit,” Jack says, trying to sound as normal as he can. “We haven’t talked about it.”“Yet,” she says with a grin.Joe needs a plus one for his sister's wedding, and Jack's the perfect candidate.(or the fake dating au no one asked for.)





	just dive right in and follow my lead

**Author's Note:**

> in this au, no one is on youtube! they're all struggling adults, ~~because i don't want to be the only one with that burden.~~
> 
> title comes from perfect from ed sheeran because what wedding is complete without a little bit of ed?

There are some days where Jack wonders if living with Joe has its disadvantages.

Today’s one of those days.

Joe’s pacing back and forth, and it’s giving him a headache. It’s off putting, but somehow, he just can’t keep his eyes off of his friend. He’s not sure what’s made him like this, agitated and panicky, but something is obviously off. Jack knows better than to stop him though, so he stays eating his cereal by the kitchen counter until Joe’s ready to talk things through.

It takes another few minutes of pacing, before Joe grows tired. He stops suddenly, facing Jack with an almost manic grin. He puts his bowl down and backs away until his back hits the opposite counter, knowing that whatever Joe is going to say is just going to be bad news. He’s already got the word ‘no’ on the tip of his tongue ready, not in the mood for a crazy idea of Joe’s at the moment. Although, he knows he would never actually say it. Somehow, Jack can never turn him down.

He’s an enigma, one Jack still has the pleasure of trying to get his head around. They’ve known each other for a few years now, and they’re still as close as ever. They balance each other out so well, that Jack knows they were supposed to be best friends. He likes to think that there’s no two people that match each other as well as they do.

“Jack, you’ve got to help me!” Joe begins, getting closer to him. Jack moves anything valuable out of the way, knowing they won’t survive the storm that’s about to brew.

“I don’t technically have to do anything,” he counters, as he brings up a spoonful of his Wheetabix to his mouth. That’s the thing – he’s never forced to tag along on these schemes. But he always willingly follows suit, intrigue getting too much for him sometimes. That, and he doesn’t ever want to think he has it in him to disappoint Joe. (The tables are turned quite a lot though, with Jack dragging Joe along with him in his own crazy schemes, and Joe’s never complained too much. Except for the Incident of Christmas 2014™. But they don’t talk about that.) Jack doesn’t realise he’s zoned out of the conversation, until he sees a cereal box thrown his way. He ducks successfully. “Hey!” he says, bending down to pick it up.

Joe gives him a look, that Jack thinks is supposed to be innocence, but he doesn’t believe it for a second. Joe can be lethal at times, and he’s learned the hard way that he should never be trusted. “Jack, focus. Please. This is a pretty big deal. I just need one favour.”

“I don’t like where this is going,” Jack sighs, but he knows as well as Joe does, that he’ll continue listening. It’s also even more probable that he’ll agree to what Joe needs him to do, but neither ever say that out loud. Jack looks over at him, who’s suddenly gone quiet. He’s looking away, obviously nervous about what he’s about to ask. “Spit it out.”

“I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend,” Joe says, his words almost coming out as one.

Jack nearly laughs right there and then, because it’s one of the funniest things he’s heard Joe say. But he looks at Joe, who is bright red and clearly waiting for his answer. He doesn’t quite know what to think now he knows it’s not a joke. “No way.”

“Please!” Joe pleads, sitting on top of the counter so he can face Jack properly this time. “Zoe’s getting married soon, and I told her I’d have a plus one. It’ll be for one weekend only, and we can always tell my sister that we’ve broken up as soon as it’s done!”

“Zoe and Alfie know me! They know I’m straight!” Jack argues, trying his best to keep his voice at a suitable level, mindful not to wake any of their roommates. He doesn’t think this is a conversation that should be had when their friends are nearby.

“Look, I wouldn’t ask you if I wasn’t desperate!” Joe says, and Jack knows that it’s true. Even the idea of the two of them dating would be enough to make him laugh, so he knows that Joe must be in some serious trouble to even consider it. “You can tell Zoe that you just felt sorry for me if it makes you feel more comfortable.”

“Why do you need a boyfriend anyways?” he asks, trying to put off answering the question for a moment. He doesn’t actually think he can go through with this, and he doesn’t know how he’ll break it to Joe.

“I might have lied and told her that I have a boyfriend. She got into that big sister mode – you know the one where she just keeps telling me how concerned she is about me? I panicked! And then of course, she went on to tell everyone in our family, because lord knows she can’t keep a secret. So, when I got my invitation to her wedding, I was told to bring my boyfriend. I’m in too deep!” Joe tells him. “I didn’t think she’d actually want to know more about him! When I rang home to tell her I didn’t think he could come, she just went on this huge rampage about how she knew I was ashamed of her and didn’t want her to meet the supposed “love of my life”. And to shut her up I told her that he’d find a way to make it somehow.”

Jack stays silent, trying to get his head around the whole thing. They’re close, probably a lot closer than friends normally are, but could they pull off pretending to be a couple? Did he even want to do this? “I need to think about this,” he answers, after a few moments of silence.

Joe’s whole face brightens up at this, and he nods. “Of course! Although it’s in a few weeks so I’ll need to know soon.”

Joe gets up, leaving Jack on his own in the kitchen. He lays his bowl down, and shuts his eyes. He wishes he could try get his mind around it, but he doesn’t think he can get past the fact that he definitely doesn’t like boys and he wouldn’t know where to begin with acting like he was in love with one. And he’s not sure he could even pull something like this off, which would make Joe’s situation even worse.

He somehow manages to get his day back on track, and makes his way to work. It’s as boring as it usually is, though he’s not sure it’s just his daily routine of talking to customers that’s making him lose concentration. In every couple he sees walking past, he sees himself and Joe, and it just doesn’t seem right.

Jack finally decides that yes, living with Joe definitely has its disadvantages.

 

 

***

 

 

After thinking it through extensively, Jack has an answer.

He hasn’t been able to think about anything else. It’s only been a day, but it feels much longer. He had been given out to for not paying attention during his shift at the café, and someone stole some of his lunch when he hadn’t been paying attention (probably – no, _definitely_ – Conor). It’s obvious to say, that Jack’s done with thinking. He needs to start talking.

So that’s what he does. When he gets home from work that evening, seeing Joe sitting on the couch watching a movie, he decides he doesn’t want to put this off, for both of their sakes.

“Joe,” he says, as he closes the door behind him. Joe jumps, obviously too busy in his own world to have noticed Jack coming in. “We need to talk.”

Joe turns his head around, his hand holding onto the edge of the couch tightly. Jack can see how tight of a grip he has on the arm of the chair, and he can tell that Joe’s trying to brace himself for a no. He takes a seat himself, wanting to be closer to Joe. He takes a moment to brace himself, and then he looks up at him.

“Why did you ask me to do this?” he asks, the question running through his mind all day.

“Ask you what?” Joe returns, his face calm and collected. But Jack looks back at him, and he can see Joe’s composure fall. “You’re my best friend. I couldn’t think of anyone else I’d rather show off, even in these circumstances.”

Jack wasn’t exactly expecting an answer like that. He thought it would have been more convenient to use someone who knew him so well, or maybe because he was the only one in the room at the time. The answer throws him off for a moment, but it makes it easier for him to finally tell Joe he’ll do what he can to help him. “Alright.”

“Alright?” Joe repeats, with a hint of disbelief.

“Alright I’ll do it.” Jack repeats, and stands up. “But you owe me big time man!” He doesn’t think he can stay still, he needs to occupy himself to deal with the nerves that’s suddenly hit him. He decides he’ll get his dinner ready, so he makes his way to the kitchen.

And with that, he busies himself with chopping vegetables, trying to ignore the shocked look still on Joe’s face.

 

 

***

 

 

It turns out, that Joe’s been having doubts about this whole thing.

When Jack wakes up the next morning, he doesn’t expect to see Joe pacing again. This time, he decides to stop it before it ruins his whole morning. He walks over, and pulls Joe down to a chair to sit him down. He looks down at his friend, obviously annoyed at what he’s seen so early in the morning. _Again_. He’s learning he isn’t exactly the nicest person to deal with in the morning. It’s his day off and he’s not going to have it ruined by more chaos.

“What’s wrong now?” he asks, his words coming out a little harsher than expected.

“How are we supposed to convince Zoe? You said it yourself, they know you – she’s never going to believe it!” Jack exclaims, and he hides his head in his hands.

“Have you eaten yet?” Jack asks, catching Joe off guard. “I can’t think straight without some bacon in me first. I think I could go for some proper breakfast. Are you coming with me or are you staying here to sulk?”

Joe looks up slowly, and nods. “Bacon’s good. I could go for some bacon right now.”

Jack’s hungry, and not exactly in the mood for waiting around. He quickly gets changed for the day ahead, and meets Joe at the door so the two can head out for some breakfast. They head to a diner a few minutes away, and get their usual orders.

“I haven’t failed you yet,” Jack says, after he takes the first sip of his coffee. “You should have more confidence in me.”

“You’ve never had to do something like this before though,” Joe points out, looking around to make sure that there’s no one around that they know. Joe wonders why he hadn’t thought of that himself. “She’ll see right through us. And I don’t even want to begin thinking about what will happen if she catches me lying. I will never hear the end of this.”

“Then we need to act like we’re a couple. Nothing too much, maybe we’ll just hold hands or something,” Jack mutters, his words trailing at the end of his sentence.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I think we’ll need to do more than hold hands. We need to pull this off if we’re really going ahead with it,” Joe tells him. He’s interrupted by the waitress bringing their food over, and he begins to eat once she’s gone.

“Fine, we’ll do this properly. But don’t you dare mention this ever again,” he warns Joe, as he cuts into his food. “We need to come up with a story. I’m sure there’s going to be a couple of questions heading our way.”

“How did we start dating?” Joe asks, setting his knife and fork down, concentrating on Jack solely. It makes him a little nervous.

“I don’t think she’s going to look for something too graphic. Maybe we just finally realised how madly in love we were with each other a couple of months into living together,” he suggests, the answer coming almost too quickly for his own liking. He shuts it down, playing with the food on his plate anxiously.

“Who made the first move?” Joe asks.

“You did. It took me longer to feel comfortable with my sexuality,” Jack answers, but is caught off guard by the dry feeling in the back of his throat after that thought. He takes a sip of his coffee, but it doesn’t do him any good. He decides to focus his attention on the food in front of him, hoping to settle the nerves he’s feeling.

“How long have we been dating?” Joe asks, still watching Jack intently. Which, doesn’t exactly help him in his current state.

“Why am I the one who is answering all these questions?” Jack asks, deflecting anymore questions from Joe.

“Fine,” Joe says with a roll of his eyes. “She thinks I’ve had a boyfriend for a few months now. So maybe four months?”

“I’m surprised I put up with you for that long,” he jokes, trying to get back to some normality.

“I’m surprised we lasted longer than a day,” Joe says with a laugh. It hits Jack that it’s a little unusual to be joking about something like this, but he tries not to overthink this.

He has a feeling that he’ll be telling himself that a lot in these next few days.

 

 

***

 

 

Days go by quickly, with Joe going through the basics with Jack at every opportunity he can.

“I’ve had girlfriends before,” Jack points out at one point, when Joe’s explaining the different ways couples show love. It’s a little condescending, he thinks, but he doesn’t actually voice that thought. He knows that Joe is just nervous, but it is getting a little tiring.

“How well have they worked out?” Joe asks, and Jack’s not sure if he’s being serious or not.

“I’m a good boyfriend,” he counters, lifting his head up. He’s pretty sure he is anyways, even if he’s never had a serious long-lasting relationship with someone before. Lydia’s the closest he’s gotten to that, and well, the less said about that the better.

That’s the end of the conversation, as either don’t have much to add. Instead they get on with their day to day lives, both successfully getting the time off work they need. The boys don’t ask many questions, although they’re a little annoyed they’re missing out on a trip away.

It isn’t until the night before, that the nervous tension really gets to them. They have the flat to themselves which is a miracle in itself, but Jack thinks they could do with some company tonight, to get their minds off what’s in store. Joe is lazily strumming his guitar, while he’s making a playlist on Spotify for their journey to the countryside tomorrow. He looks up a few times, his eyes trailing Joe’s figure. He never took the time to appreciate Joe’s latest hobby, but he finds it quite soothing to hear Joe sing along quietly.

Joe puts his guitar down a little while later, and moves closer to Jack. “We don’t look like a couple.”

“Is this the part where you give me a makeover?” he asks, having been waiting for this to happen ever since they started planning. “Because honestly, it should be the other way around. And it’s been a long time coming.”

“No,” Joe shakes his head, smiling slightly to himself. “You’re fine the way you are.”

Jack, who had expected a jibe sent back to him, wishes he’d have a witty reply. But instead, he decides to move on further in the conversation. “Well, what do you mean?”

“Hold my hand,” Joe instructs him, and he complies. “See, you can’t do that without looking like there’s a gun behind your head.”

“Well, you did spring it on me,” he says in defence, but Joe isn’t having any of it.

“How are we supposed to look like we’re in love if you we don’t get over this…” he pauses, and Jack isn’t sure he wants to know the end of the sentence. “…tension we have.”

“You’re right,” he admits, even if he doesn’t want it to be. “So, what do you suggest?”

“Neither of us is going to like it,” Joe begins, and Jack shakes his head. He doesn’t want to kiss him, especially not like this. “Come on! We’re friends, this shouldn’t be a big deal. It’s not like we can be like this tomorrow.” And then, Joe’s eyes widen and he starts to panic. “Maybe this was a huge mistake. I shouldn’t have told her I was bringing a boyfriend. Is it too late to ring up and cancel? I probably should.”

Jack decides to stop Joe from rambling, because the more he speaks the bigger the headache he’s going to get. He braces himself, as Joe starts going on about how Zoe will probably abandon him for doing this to her, when Jack leans in and kisses him. It’s awkward, with Joe’s mouth wide open from speaking, but Joe soon melts into the kiss.

And honestly, it’s not bad. It’s different than kissing a girl, but he likes it.

That’s when alarm bells start ringing, and Jack pulls apart. They’re both a little breathless, and in any other circumstance Jack would have a smart remark about the look on Joe’s face. But it’s different now.

“I promise you can trust me,” is all he says, playing with the phone in his hand.

“Well, I’m off to bed. Early morning ahead of us, and we can’t be late, right? We’ll have to factor in traffic on our way, but we’ll get there,” Joe mutters, standing up from the seat quickly.

“Hey Joe?” Jack says, still slightly breathless from this kiss. And god, Joe shouldn’t look that good afterwards. “I didn’t know you could play guitar so well.”

This could be a bonding moment, one where Joe tells him why he’s wanted to start learning, or his favourite songs to play, or even offer to teach Jack how to play one day, but instead he just smirks. He holds the guitar up, and starts to strum again. “Anyways, here’s Wonderwall.”

Jack throws a pillow at him, and the two start to laugh, falling into their regular routine.

He walks past Joe, into his room and shuts the door behind him. Everything is okay – it’s good. Isn’t it?

He barely sleeps, his mind racing with thoughts of Joe sitting there on the couch like that.

It’s going to be a long weekend.

 

 

***

 

 

Jack is up at six, an hour before his alarm goes off. He’s tired of tossing and turning in bed, so instead he gets up and decides to make himself a cup of coffee. It’s hard to concentrate, especially when he feels the time ticking by. He can feel the dread creeping up, and that’s just for when Joe gets out of bed.

He’s brought out of his thoughts when he hears a door open, and he catches a tired looking Caspar appear.

“You’re not in work until later today,” Jack points out, as he lets his cup down.

“Do you think I’d miss the two of you leaving?” he asks, followed by a yawn.

“I’ll get you some coffee,” he insists, and Caspar gives him the best smile he can muster this early. “We’re not leaving for another two hours.”

“I’ll miss you guys,” he tells him, and Jack can’t help but smile.

“We’re coming back tomorrow night Caspar, we’re not leaving the flat for good,” he says with a soft chuckle, and Caspar just rolls his eyes. “Do you know what’s going on?”

“You’re Joe’s plus one to Zoe’s wedding,” he says with a shrug. “Personally, I’m a little offended he didn’t pick me. Although I get it, Zoe might become a runaway bride when she takes one look at me looking dapper in my suit.”

He doesn’t know if he’s even allowed to tell Caspar, but he feels the need to. He can’t live with this on his own anymore. “I have to pretend to be his boyfriend.”

Caspar’s obviously shocked by this, and he moves closer to him. “You’re not kidding?” Jack shakes his head, and he can see Caspar trying not to smile. He’s unsuccessful, as he lets out a snort. “I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t tell you so you could laugh at me!” he hisses, and Caspar tries to compose himself.

“You’re right,” he says, as he takes a deep breath. “So why did you tell me?”

“Because I don’t know what I’m doing!” he answers. “I’m not the most ideal person for this. I’m not exactly boyfriend material.”

“Are you kidding me?” Caspar asks, as he raises his eyebrows. “You’re a parent’s wet dream when you want to be. You’re a good person Jack, believe it or not.”

He hands Caspar his cup of coffee silently, moved by his words, and settles against the counter. He looks down at his own cup, which has gone cold, and pushes it away. “Do you think it’ll be okay?”

“The main question is; what are you looking for out of this weekend?” he asks, and Jack’s not entirely sure what he means. Caspar sees this, so he goes on. “It’s not something friends usually do for the other. So, what’s made you decide to go along with this?”

“He needed my help,” he replies, but he has a funny feeling in the back of his mind and he hopes it’s just Caspar trying to mess with him. He doubts it though, unfortunately.

“So there’s no personal gain?” Caspar asks, his eyes narrowing on Jack’s.

“I’m being a good friend to him,” he answers, more positive in his answer this time. “He’s done a lot for me. It’s about time I do something for him in return.”

Jack can see Caspar’s about to say something else, but Joe walks into the room and he stops himself. “Just be careful with him,” Caspar says quietly. Jack wants to ask what he means by that, but he looks over to Joe and sees that he looks like hell. He gets to making Joe a cup of coffee, and when he looks up he can see Caspar watching them carefully. He swallows the nerves away, and pays attention to the coffee.

“I’m not in the mood to deal with my family today. I don’t want to go,” Joe growls, and he sits down opposite his friends.

“And miss our handsome friend Jack dressed in his suit and tie?” Caspar asks, a smirk on his lips.

“You’re just making me want to hide in my bed even more,” Joe mutters, and Jack laughs to himself as he passes the coffee over to him.

“I’ll look even better than 007 himself,” he says smugly. He doesn’t actually like suits, he feels too stuffy in them. They’re too important, and they remind him of funerals. He looks at the time, and realises he needs to get on with his day. “Now, who wants breakfast?”

After breakfast, burnt toast and a couple of sausages each, Jack and Joe go to get ready. He has his overnight bag packed, a pair of pyjamas and comfortable clothes for the journey back, so all he has to do is get dressed.

Jack gets stuck at the tie, which he’s always found the hardest to do. His father never taught him properly, so he’s always been a little lost when it came to it. He settles once it’s tied, and fixes his hair in the reflection of his mirror. He can see he looks different, but he’s not sure it’s anything spectacular. He’s just regular Jack, but this time trying to look like a functioning adult. He leaves his room, finding Joe and Caspar bickering over something, and he makes his way over to them.

“We’ll need to leave soon if you want to get there on time,” Jack points out, and he feels a sense of unease as he feels both of their eyes travel up and down his body. “Did I do something wrong?”

Joe walks over to him, and pushes his tie closer to the middle. “There. Now you’re perfect,” he says, holding onto the tie. He lets go soon after, and picks up his own bag.

Caspar’s eyes meet Jack’s, but he looks away quickly. “Don’t get into too much trouble,” he says jokingly.

“I should be saying that to you,” Caspar chuckles slightly. “Knock ‘em dead Jack. You look good dude.”

Jack runs to catch up to Joe, who’s already out of the flat, and he closes the door behind them. He chances a quick glance at Joe, who’s looking frightened so he places a hand on his shoulder. “Ready babe?”

“Really?” Joe asks, looking towards him. “For all the times that I heard you use pet names, I never thought you’d use one on me.”

“It’s a scary world we live in,” he shrugs, as he starts walking out the building. “Anyways, it seems like something I should do. Nothing too excessive, that’ll just look fake. But slip in a ‘babe’ or a ‘love’ somewhere. Unless, should I not do that?”

“No, it’s alright. Actually, it’s really smart,” Joe says, but he sounds like he’s miles away.

Jack doesn’t blame him, he’d be terrified if their positions were switched.

 

 

***

 

 

The playful mood from a long car journey with his best friend soon turns serious, as they reach the church.

All of the stress and the worries they had left behind at the flat comes rushing back, and as Jack stops the engine they sit in silence. They watch as a crowd starts to gather, but they stay seated in the car together.

“Thank you,” Joe says, looking straight ahead of him. “I just want you to know this really means a lot to me. You’re an alright friend sometimes.”

“You could have just left it at the first part,” Jack says, and he hears Joe laugh to himself. “Are you ready yet?”

Joe takes a breath, and then unbuckles his seatbelt. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

They get out of the car together, and walk in a similar pace. Jack closes the distance between the two, but decides against holding his hand. He doesn’t think it’ll be needed just yet. He smiles awkwardly as people recognise Joe.

When they walk inside the church, Jack sees Joe’s parents recognise them. His mother Tracey walks over to the two, with a proud smile on her face, and he holds onto Joe’s hand.

“Why didn’t you tell me dear?” she exclaims, as she throws her arms over Jack. “I had a feeling it would be you. You know, with how much he talks about you.”

“Mom,” Joe says bitingly, and she laughs as she lets go of Jack.

“He knows how much you love him dear,” she says, and takes Jack’s hand. “Jack, you’re going to be sitting with me. We’re very close to the front, so we’ll get to see everything!”

Jack looks over at Joe, looking for some clarification on what he had meant, but Joe’s looking anywhere but at him. He follows her absentmindedly, trying not to overthink what she had just said. Surely Joe was just catching her up on his own life, and he had appeared in the stories. They rarely did something without the other.

Joe makes it up to the altar beside Alfie, being one of the groomsmen. Jack just has enough time to sit down before Joe’s mother is pointing out relations and old friends, and he does try and pick things up, but it’s a lot of information to take in and she is talking a lot.

“It’s a shame your parents couldn’t make it. I have a feeling we’ll be a nice happy family soon. It’ll be your wedding next,” Tracey says, and he almost chokes from her words. He turns pale, and she switches glances between the two – a curious Joe who’s just witnessed Jack’s whiplash from the comment standing up on the altar, and Jack, who’s still recovering. “Too soon?”

“A little bit,” Jack says, trying to sound as normal as he can. “We haven’t talked about it.”

“Yet,” she says with a grin.

“Yet,” he repeats, and then tries to get the conversation as far away from this as he can. “Are Alfie’s family nice?”

She dives into a conversation about the Christmas party and meeting his parents the first time. He laughs a lot, with how creative she can be with telling stories, and he thoroughly enjoys the conversation. He likes her, and he wants to impress her, more for his own sake rather than Joe’s.

The ceremony starts and Jack watches Zoe and Alfie, who are still incredibly smitten with each other. He’s always loved weddings, watching happy couples start the rest of their lives together with the people they love.

He finds his attention turning back to Joe, stealing glances every now and then. He’s watching with a smile, obviously moved by what’s going on. Joe’s just so happy for Zoe, and Jack really admires the love he has for his sister. There’s a lot that he admires about Joe though. He’s not sure why he’s entranced by Joe at the moment, but he’s happy for him. He turns his attention back to the service, more aware of Joe’s family sitting beside him than ever.

When the ceremony finishes, and everyone makes their way outside the church to gather around the happy couple, she drags him around to introduce him to anyone she can. He meets practically everyone Joe is related to, although he knows nothing about any of them. Joe doesn’t even seem phased by this. Jack, on the other hand, is feeling overwhelmed by all the new faces, but he does his best to make Joe proud.

“He’s wants to go into music production!” Tracey beams, and Jack wonders when Joe shared this piece of information. “Imagine what their children would be like!”

“They’ll be so creative,” Jack hears someone say, from the small crowd gathering around him. He’s not sure who the voice belongs to, but he doesn’t think it actually matters at this point.

Joe stays silent throughout this whole exchange, which leaves Jack to do the talking. “If they’re anything like Joe, I’ll be happy.”

Tracey looks overwhelmed with emotion as he says that, and the people surrounding him are obviously impressed by his answer. It isn’t until he hears Joe say he has to make a quick call that he wonders if he’s done the right thing. He follows Joe, and the two continue walking until they find a patch where they’re completely alone.

“Was that too much?” he asks, and Jack shakes his head.

“No, it was great actually. I don’t know why I doubted you,” Joe answers, although he doesn’t sound very confident in his own answer. “You’re a natural at this. Mum’s really loving you right now.”

“Are you okay?” he asks, watching him closely.

“This is just a little weird,” Joe shrugs, and he understands completely. “Come on, we better get back before people start to think we’re shagging behind one of these bushes.”

“At a church?” he asks with a chuckle. Joe laughs too, and they soak up the normality of the situation, before they have to head back to the craziness. Joe holds his hand out for Jack to take, and they walk towards the group again.

Before they know it, they’re on the way to the reception, with Tracey in the front seat of his car beside him, reminiscing about old times, and telling him lots of embarrassing childhood stories that he can’t wait to tell the boys when they get home.

He’s enjoying the day a lot more than he expected, but he’s still thinking of his conversation with Caspar earlier. He tries to shake it off, but whenever he catches Joe watching him, he can feel his stomach doing cartwheels.

 

 

***

 

 

As the night goes on and the alcohol starts flowing, the night starts to get a little hectic.

Jack’s been dragged onto the dancefloor several times, even after all of his protests, and has made a fool of himself too many times. He doesn’t dance and he’s not drunk enough for this, but when he turns and sees Joe watching him with a bright smile, it doesn’t seem too bad.

He goes over to their table, and gets Joe to join him. Joe laughs, and takes his hand with a reluctant smile. They lose their inhibitions and just have fun, not caring how awful they look. And then, it starts to turn a little more adventurous. Jack knows he shouldn’t be enjoying having Joe so close to him, but he loves it. He can feel Joe’s breath on his neck and their bodies are achingly close. The people around them are very drunk, so no one pays any attention to them.

Jack doesn’t know who initiates it, but Joe’s mouth is on his and his hands are brushing against his body. He wraps his arms around Joe’s waist and pushes him closer. He swears that time slows down and the earth stops spinning and it’s like every single romantic comedy trope to ever exist is happening right now. He realises that this is all he’s wanted, that he’s been so blind to have not seen it before. It’s always been Joe, and always will be.

As the song changes, Joe inches apart. The two look at each other, with the realisation of what they have done setting in. He can feel the shift in their friendship already, and he knows that nothing is going to be the same again. Joe rushes away, leaving the room. Jack’s about to follow him and apologise, when he feels an arm wrap around his and he’s dragged in their direction.

He looks down to see Tracey, and he follows her willingly to her table. She’s not the person he wants to be with now, but he thinks being away from Joe might be the best action at this point.

He’s scared that Joe won’t even want to be his friend after this. He’s surely ruined everything with how he’s behaved during the day, and wishes he had just refused to come to this damn wedding. But he’s scared about this feeling inside of him too, the sudden realisation that he’s in love with his best friend.

“I finally get to steal you from him!” she says with a grin, taking Jack out of his thoughts. He sits down on the chair beside hers, and she takes a sip of her red wine. “I’m sure you’d probably prefer to be with Joe right now, but I just wanted to thank you.”

“Thank me?” he asks, confused at the thought. He hadn’t done anything for her, apart from dance with her even after he had persistently refused to get up.

“I want to thank you for everything you’ve done for him. You’ve made him so happy, do you know that?” she asks. “Seeing him today with you, it just makes me so proud. I was always scared for him – I think all mothers are. But now he has you, and I know that you’ll be there for him whenever he needs you.”

“Of course,” he answers, without missing a beat. And it’s true, he’s always been there for Joe. And he plans to be there, for the rest of his life.

“You’re all I could have ever asked for him – even more,” she says, and she holds onto his hand. “And he loves you just as much. It’s all in his eyes, it’s so easy for any of us to see. You two really are perfect for each other. It’s about time you two had realised. I was sick of listening to him going about you for so long.”

He stays silent at that, taking it all in. Someone taps Tracey on the back, and she apologises to Jack as she gets up and leaves. He stays there for a few moments, before he decides to take a leap of faith. It could all be lies, or something Tracey only assumes is right. But he decides he wants to take the chance.

He goes looking for Joe, and decides to try their room after a few wrong turns. He climbs the stairs, two steps at a time, trying to calm his heavily beating heart. Now that he can finally admit it to himself, maybe that means there’s still hope for him and Joe to be together. There has to be. He can’t back out of this.

He doesn’t even know what he’s going to say, and he starts talking to himself as he starts walking down the hall to their room. He pauses by the door at the moment, before he finally finds the courage to enter the room. He finds Joe, sitting on the bed, staring ahead of him. Jack sits beside him, and the two sit in silence for a moment.

“I don’t know what to say,” Jack begins, his words trailing at the end. “All of this pretending – it hasn’t been easy.”

“You shouldn’t have said yes,” Joe says, and he can see Joe frowning.

“No, I mean, all this pretending, it’s made me realise something,” he continues, trying to push past all of his nerves. He doesn’t even understand why he’s getting so anxious about it. Joe is the one person who knows his every thought, every secret, every part of him, good and bad alike. He’s never been able to hold anything back from Joe before, so why start now?

“Realise what?” Joe’s voice is gentle now, concern evident on his face.

“That I don’t want it to be pretend, not anymore,” Jack says, smiling slightly. “I know - I know this sounds mad, but I think I’ve wanted this, us for a long time now, and I never realised. Weddings are supposed to be romantic, you know? So now’s a better time to say it than any other time. Even if you don’t say it back.”

“Jack –” Joe tries to interrupt, his voice soft.

“I love you,” Jack blurts out. “I love you, and it’s okay if you don’t feel the same, but I just needed you to know. Because fake-dating you, today – it’s made me realise how much I really, genuinely do want to date you. I’ve travelled, seen the stars shining down on the water and sunsets that would make your heart skip a beat. But you? You feel like the first beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

His heart is racing, and he’s almost too scared to look Joe in the eye. But he does, and he sees Joe inching closer to him, and the next thing he knows Joe is pressing his lips to his and he feels so full of love. He’s just so happy and even that’s not enough to describe how he feels right now.

Joe breaks their kiss only to say, “I love you too.” Jack breaks into a grin, still almost in disbelief of this actually happening. He loves Joe, and he wishes he could have realised before. But it doesn’t matter in the end, because Joe loves him back and they’re going to be okay. When Joe kisses him again, Jack swears that from this moment on, his whole life will be a dedication of love for Joe.

Jack can feel the world settling down around him, as if everything is finally the way it’s supposed to be.

 

 

***

 

 

“Hey there good looking, is this seat taken?” Jack asks, and Joe breaks out into a grin.

“It’s all yours,” he says in return, and leans down to kiss Joe.

Despite the fact that the reception's starting to dwindle down, the dancefloor is still packed and the two watch as their friends are dancing a little too merrily. He can see Mikey and Conor pulling their best dad moves, and Josh and Caspar are nearly passed out by the bar after one too many rounds of shots. They’re not as young as they used to be.

“What’s a pretty thing like you doing all by himself?” he asks and Joe ducks his head, shaking his head with a laugh.

“Waiting for my husband, actually,” Joe answers happily, holding his hand up and wiggling his fingers, the light catching on the golden band around his finger. The word rolls so pleasantly off his tongue. “Last I saw he was being thrown around the dancefloor by my mother.”

“Sounds like an upstanding gentleman,” Jack smirks and Joe laughs, the rim of the champagne flute pressed to Jack’s lips.

He places the glass back on the table, turning in his chair to properly face Joe and Joe still hasn’t stopped beaming at him. Jack can’t really guarantee his face isn’t a mirror image though, he hasn’t stopped smiling since he woke up. Apart from the time when Joe had started talking about how lucky he was to have married his best friend, and he had almost ( _ ~~definitely~~_ ) cried.

“You know, I’m really enjoying this being married thing right now,” Joe says confidently.

“I’m holding you to that the next time you yell at me for leaving my socks on the floor,” Jack mumbles.

“Jack, it takes two steps further to put them in the washing basket and you could at least –” Jack shuts him up with a kiss because he can and he has before, and now that they’re married he’s planning on using that technique for a very, very long time.

“I love you,” he says once he’s pulled back, Joe’s face still cupped in his hands. He thumbs at the edge of Joe’s cheekbone, face so close he can see every fleck of colour in his eyes.

Joe’s about to reply, when they hear the sound of glass breaking and they turn to see Oli laughing manically. Then there's Conor, now dancing on his own, a little too enthusiastically to the Spice Girls song currently playing.

“We’ve got a crazy family here,” Joe says with a laugh.

Jack looks by, taking in everyone in the room. He’s never been prouder of where he’s ended up. He’s in a room surrounded by the people he loves, celebrating the start of the rest of his life with his soulmate.

It’s perfect. It’s so, so perfect and when Jack turns back to see Joe beaming at him, he can safely say he’s never been this happy. Although, Joe’s made him think this several times. When they first became a couple, when they got engaged, when they moved out of the flat and into their own little house. And even on the small days, when they’ve just stayed in bed all day together, or when they come home from work to each other.

Joe stands up, and pulls Jack up with him. He’s wearing a goofy grin, as he walks over to the dancefloor with Joe’s hand in his. They sway lazily, holding each other close.

Jack looks back at it all, and he can’t help but change his mind.

Living with Joe definitely has its advantages.


End file.
